CenterStage presents Ives’ plays

Witty wordplay, intellectual riffing and impeccable comic timing have become the hallmarks of David Ives’ one-act plays.

Spokane’s CenterStage dinner theater will present seven of his short comedies, ranging in length from three to 20 minutes, in “The Wacky World of David Ives,” opening today.

“These are brainy pieces; they are clever pieces, full of sarcasm and full of parody,” says director Tim Behrens. “The thing that unites them all is that they are all really, really funny.”

The lineup includes “Sure Thing,” “Words, Words, Words,” “A Singular Kind of Guy,” “Babel’s in Arms,” “Time Flies,” “English Made Simple” and “Soap Opera.”

In “Soap Opera,” for example, a man falls in love with his favorite washing machine, which he brings on a date to a fancy French restaurant. The maitre d’ asks him to explain.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon with Ives,” Behrens says. “You read the page, and it’s well written and makes you laugh. Then you work the show, and you see all this serious underneath stuff, the parody, the sarcasm. But by the time you work with all that, and you just come back to the words, it’s hysterically funny again.”

The cast includes Stephanie Brush, Scott Finlayson, Skyler Chance McKinley, Buddy Todd, Laura VanDerLinde and Juli Wellman.

The play runs most Thursdays and Fridays through Aug. 25. The theater is at 1017 W. First Ave. Dinner is served shortly after the doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30.

Tickets are $39 for dinner and the show or $19 for the show only. They are available at the theater box office, open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. (509-74-STAGE) or at all TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

Check www.spokanecenterstage.com for more details, including the dinner theater menu.